Are its political contributions the ultimate investment strategy?

Goldman Sachs is the last of the major banks to reach a settlement with the government for its role in the 2008 financial crisis. You may remember that it was one of several financial institutions accused of repackaging subprime mortgages (sold by companies like Countrywide) to investors who sustained massive losses when the housing bubble burst.

According to the New York Times, the settlement amounts to $5.1 billion dollars - which pales in comparison to the agreement reached by mortgage industry titan Morgan Stanley which was forced to pay $13.3 billion dollars. And unlike other banks, Goldman’s settlement provides it a variety of credits applied to policies such as loan forgiveness and low-income housing that could save it up to $1 billion dollars.

Now of course all banks are different, and each played a different role in the 2008 crisis. But what’s also different is the extent to which the major US banks give to politicians in Washington. Up next is the breakdown on which of these banks wields the most influence in Congress.